Ford’s F-150 Named ‘Most American’

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DEARBORN, MI (WWJ)— For the first time in five years, an American brand vehicle has topped Cars.com’s annual “Most American” list.

Ford’s F-150 regained the honor, dethroning the Toyota Camry, which topped the list for the last four years.

“Ford’s top ranking this year is a good indicator of how pickup trucks are dominating auto sales so far in 2013, and how the domestic automakers are bouncing back,” said Cars.com Editor-In-Chief Patrick Olsen.

Brand is not one of the indicators that Cars.com uses to judge which vehicle is most American. The formula takes into account domestic parts content, domestic sales and manufacturing location.

Cars.com has stirred up a lot of controversy by putting foreign brand cars on a “Most American” list. But, Olsen says that was the point.

“There are a lot of cars that we felt because they had such a big manufacturing presence in the U.S., we weren’t sure consumers were aware how many of these cars were being built here.”

For the first time ever, two of the top three vehicles on the list are from an American brand. The Dodge avenger is third on the list, immediately following the Camry, which fell to second place this year.

The F-150 has led the list in the past. Olsen says it fell in ranking as its domestic parts content fell.

“There were a couple of years where it dropped as low as 55 percent domestic parts,” he said. “But, for the last two years it’s hit 75 percent. And, pickup truck sales in the last few years have really taken off.”

Toyota remains the brand with the most vehicles on the top 10 list. Other than that, the list is pretty well split between domestic and foreign auto brands.

Ford F-150

Toyota Camry

Dodge Avenger

Honda Odyssey

Toyota Sienna

Chevrolet Traverse

Toyota Tundra

GMC Acadia

Buick Enclave

Toyota Avalon

You can find more information about the list on the Cars.com website. Olsen says their intention is to get people talking about the idea of just what it takes to make a product American.

“Buying American isn’t necessarily the key decision maker for every car shopper; however a study we conducted in 2012 indicated that 25 percent of shoppers surveyed preferred to buy American.”

Written by Jeff Gilbert. Connect with Jeff at jdgilbert@cbs.com, facebook.com/carchronicles and @jefferygilbert.

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